


It was the end of the world as we know it.... now what?

by ultrasuperfangirl



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Family Drama, Gen, Memory Loss, Secret Organizations, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2019-11-18 04:56:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18113726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultrasuperfangirl/pseuds/ultrasuperfangirl
Summary: The Umbrella Academy has just leapt through time and space in a desperate attempt to save themselves from the apocalypse in 2019 in the hopes that they may still be able to stop it from happening. They find themselves in an unknown time and place and are met with a not entirely unfamiliar face.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's a short first chapter, but this is what I have so far and it seemed like a good place to end for now - stay tuned for more hopefully because my brain does have more story swirling around in it!
> 
> I don't entirely know where this is headed, but hopefully it intrigues people as much as it intrigued me! I have been intrigued by the possibilities with "Kenny's Mom" but haven't read any other fics about her yet, so this isn't purposefully related to or jumping off from any other fics - but if it is similar to one you have read, let me know - I would love to see what directions others are taking this character and the continuation of the story.

**_Time: 2:42am_**  
**_Location: Lamp lit street on the outskirts of a large metropolis_**  
**_Date: To be determined_**

The city was silent with sleep. A stray tabby cat sat languidly on the grassy boulevard, casually bathing himself amid the quiet stillness that only the middle of the night seemed to bring.

Over top of the sleeping city, clouds rolled in like waves swirling with a sudden breeze slowly building to wind.

A flash of blue swirling light startled the cat from his grooming euphoria. Strobes of lightning illuminated the street, fooling the street lights into switching off, pushing the surrounding area back into darkness. Out of the middle of the flashing circle of blue light, figures appeared hazily before being suddenly and violently spat out and onto the pavement in a tangled pile of arms, legs and torsos. The blue light faded quickly, leaving the street in darkness while the street lights slowly faded back in.

The Hargreeves' lay still for a moment in a pile, breathing heavily together as their eyes adjusted to the dimly lit street. On the boulevard, the tabby cat resumed licking himself, indifferent to the high stakes situation unfolding in front of him.

Allison, Diego, Klaus and Five all blinked the stars from their eyes in an attempt to reorient themselves. Luther carefully hugged his arms to his chest to make sure he hadn't lost hold of Vanya's unconscious body in the jump from the apocalypse to...wherever they had landed. Ben sat on the curb, head between his knees wondering how it was possible for a ghost to feel motion sickness. A few feet away, someone gently cleared their throat to make their presence known.

"Hello, Umbrella Academy." The voice belonged to a woman wearing a navy blue dress with small white polka dots that fit at the waist and flared out comfortably over her round frame. Her eyes sparkled behind cat eye glasses and her bright red hair, straight and cut to her shoulders, flew lazily in the breeze slowly dissipating after the wormhole closed. She smiled softly, her red painted lips curving into the dimples at the corner of her mouth.

"My name is Eleanor. I'm with The Initiative."

"Hey!" Klaus exclaimed, clumsily lifting himself off of the dogpile of siblings and brushing himself off. "You're Kenny's mom!"

Luther's brow furrowed as he stood, Vanya still cradled in his arms. "Kenny's mom? Who's Kenny?"

Diego grunted against the release of Luther’s weight and rose to his feet, adjusting his holsters as he did so. "At the bowling alley. You were at the bowling alley."  
  
Eleanor smiled. “I've been observing you in various times and places throughout the last few decades. Technically I'm not supposed to make contact, but even the most dedicated employee has to break the monotony of just observing every once in a while." She giggled.

"Employee? Who do you work for?" Diego questioned, one hand at the ready on a knife at his left side.

"As I said, I am with The Initiative. Welcome to 1987."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Umbrella Academy has just leapt through time and space in a desperate attempt to save themselves from the apocalypse in 2019 in the hopes that they may still be able to stop it from happening. They find themselves in an unknown time and place and are met with a not entirely unfamiliar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter. (Who am I kidding? They may all be like this.)

_**Time: 2:44am**_  
_**Location: Lamp lit street on the outskirts of a large metropolis, now populated with six living siblings, one dead sibling, one mysterious lady and an indifferent tabby cat.**_  
_**Date: 1987**_  
  
“1987?” Five’s brow furrowed with scepticism and confusion. “I wasn’t taking us to 1987.”  
  
Eleanor nodded and fiddled with a small yellow handbag that had been hidden behind her large skirt. “Yes I know. You were headed to the week before your sister there blew up the moon and destroyed the planet.” She motioned towards Vanya who was still unconscious and draped over Luther’s arms. “I intercepted your jump and redirected you here.”  
  
Five clenched his jaw and his eyes narrowed. “Why?”  
  
Eleanor returned Five’s glare, but added a smile. “Because there are already versions of you in 2019. We couldn’t very well have an entire second set of you lot running around the city like chicken’s with your heads cut off trying to stop the apocalypse.”  
  
Five rolled his eyes as Eleanor continued.  
  
“Besides. When you returned to 2019 the first time you gave yourself less than a week. To stop the APOCALYPSE.” She chuckled. “Poor planning if you ask me.”  
  
Klaus, who had stumbled over to sit on the curb side next to Ben, snickered. “She’s got a point there, big man.”  
  
Luther chimed in, still cradling Vanya. “What is The Initiative exactly? Doesn’t sound that different from The Commission to me.”  
  
Eleanor’s smile faded and her face twitched as though her nose had just made contact with a foul smell. “The Commission fancies themselves a righteous organization tasked with the protection of the time space continuum. In reality, they are a group of religious zealots who believe in a predetermined destiny – one that they have to manufacture and manipulate, no less.“  
  
“Hypocrites!” Klaus exclaimed, welcoming the previously uninterested cat onto his lap.  
  
Eleanor’s smile returned. “The Initiative, on the other hand, are firm believers in free will. The time space continuum doesn't need protecting because nothing is ever 'supposed' to happen. Things happen because people make choices. We believe that interfering with those choices is inherently wrong.”  
  
“Okay,” Five chimed in. “Free will over destiny. I get that. But what actually makes you so different? You’re interfering with the apocalypse which, it could be argued, was brought on by the same “choice” and free will you claim to champion.”  
  
“Hypocrites!” Klaus exclaimed again, stroking the back of his new furry friend as it purred. Beside him, Ben sneezed. Klaus looked at him, eyes wide. “Can dead people be allergic to cats?”  
  
Ben looked puzzled. “I wasn’t even sure it was possible for dead people to sneeze.”  
  
Eleanor interrupted. “The big difference for now is that, unlike The Commission, we don’t want the world to end. We like the world. The big difference for now is that, unlike The Commission, we are on your side.”  
  
Five smiled an approving but cynical smile, which Eleanor returned.  
  
From Luther’s arms, a small groan escaped Vanya’s lips as she started to stir. Luther turned to Eleanor. “We need to get her somewhere safe. Somewhere contained.”  
  
Eleanor approached Luther, looking up at Vanya and put a hand to her wrist, checking her pulse.  “We can take her to our headquarters.” She looked up pointedly at Luther. “It’s not an impenetrable soundproof bunker in the basement, but it should do the trick for now.”  
  
Made self-conscious by Eleanor’s pointed remark, Luther turned his eyes to Allison, who was looking up at him with a sarcastic smile.  
  
Eleanor turned on her heels and began walking down the street, now fully lit by the streetlights. Diego broke away from the group and started following. As he did, he turned briefly back to the group and nodded his head in Eleanor’s direction. “I like her.” He chuckled and continued walking.  
  
Beside Luther, Allison was scrawling something on the pad of paper she had stashed in her pocket. She finished and flashed the pad up at Luther. “Me too.” She followed Diego.  
  
Ben and Klaus raised themselves off the pavement and made their way to follow the group. Klaus cradled the tabby cat in his arms and shouted down the street to Eleanor. “Is this place pet friendly?” He continued, not waiting for a response. Ben sniffled and followed close behind him.  
  
Luther turned to Five.  “Seriously? We are just going to follow his woman into the great unknown? Are you not concerned about this?”  
  
“Of course I’m concerned about it Luther. I’m concerned about everything. All the time. This is the apocalypse we’re talking about. Anyone who isn’t concerned is either lying or working for The Commission. But we are in 1987 and are being presented with time and resources to potentially save the world. And Vanya.” He glanced briefly at Vanya’s slight frame lumped in Luther’s arms. “Right now. We don’t have much choice.”  
  
Five patted Luther on the forearm and followed after the group.  
  
Luther looked down at Vanya who had fallen back into silence. He sighed heavily, readjusted her in the crooks of his arms and followed the rest of The Umbrella Academy towards whatever The Initiative had to offer them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Umbrella Academy has just leapt through time and space in a desperate attempt to save themselves from the apocalypse in 2019 in the hopes that they may still be able to stop it from happening. They find themselves in an unknown time and place and are met with a not entirely unfamiliar face who introduces them to yet another mysterious organization called The Initiative.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who is following this story - thank you for your patience and apologies for the delay in posting something new. It was a crazy couple months for me including a big trip overseas, so I hadn't had the chance to focus back in on this story, but I FINALLY got this chapter finished. Hopefully it was worth the wait.

**_Time: 2:50am_ **

**_Location: Lamp lit street on the outskirts of a large metropolis. Six living siblings, one dead sibling, one mysterious lady and an indifferent tabby cat stand outside of a small run down bungalow._ **

**_Date: Still 1987 (and will be until further notice.)_ **

  
“THIS is The Initiative?” Diego said skeptically.   
  
Three blocks from where they landed, Eleanor stood before them with a smile in front of a small run down bungalow buried among a series of other run down bungalows. The group stood in stunned silence.   
  
The fenced yard broke at the front where a small metal gate hung crookedly on its hinges, creaking slowly against the light breeze. The cracked sidewalk and cement stairs led to a weathered wooden door and a dented round door handle, speckled with the brown and red of creeping rust. The windows were dark against the blackness of night – reflecting only the streetlights against the dirty panes. A small overgrown bush to the right of the front stairs rustled in the breeze, waving a dirty plastic bag caught in its branches like a flag.   
  
Allison exchanged looks with Diego.   
  
Beside them, Five’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”   
  
Eleanor smiled again, wider. “I am not. Follow me.”   
  
Eleanor went through the crooked metal gate towards the front steps and veered off the path to the left. She disappeared quickly behind the side of the house, leaving the group on the sidewalk. The Hargreeves stared uneasily as her head popped back around the side of the house. “Waiting for a formal invitation?”   
  
The siblings all exchanged looks, landing their eyes on Five, observing his reaction. Five stared at the side of the house where Eleanor had disappeared again. His jaw clenched.   
  
“Ouch! Jesus!” Klaus exclaimed as the cat in his arms scratched and struggled to release himself from Klaus’ arms. The cat landed on all fours, jumped the fence in one leap and followed Eleanor around the side of the house. Klaus quickly followed, clumsily leaping over the fence himself, arms outstretched towards the fleeing feline. “Marty!”   
  
Diego turned to Allison. “Marty?” Allison shrugged.   
  
Five cleared his throat and followed Klaus and the cat through the crooked gate and around the side of the house. He was followed in short order by Allison, Diego and Luther – Vanya still unconscious in his arms.   
  
As they rounded the side of the house, they found Klaus, once again holding the tabby cat, stationed next to Eleanor, who was waiting calmly for them beside a small shed in the backyard of the rundown bungalow.   
  
Diego sneered. “Right. Because a dirty run down house wasn’t bad enough, but now this secret society of yours that is going to help us save the world is holed up in a shitty garden shed?”   
  
Eleanor smiled and slowly lifted her hand to a small gray switch to the right of the shed’s splintered door. As she flicked the switch, a loud mechanical sound came from inside the shed as the door swung open quickly. Inside the door was a small metal room.   
  
In you go!” Eleanor chimed, holding her hand towards the open door, inviting them to step inside.   
  
“No way!” Klaus exclaimed. “Is this, like, a secret elevator?”   
  
Eleanor just smiled.   
  
Klaus stepped in without hesitation, followed closely by the reluctant apparition of Ben beside him.  He noticed his siblings still stuck staring at the shed, brows furrowed identically. Although none of them were actually related by blood, there were certain mannerisms and quirks that each of them adapted and adopted from one another. The brow furrow was one of the classics. Klaus rolled his eyes at the hesitation of his brothers and sister. “Come on you guys. Is this REALLY the weirdest thing to have ever happened to any of you? We’re in 1987 for Christ sake.”   
  
In Luther’s arms, Vanya’s eyes fluttered. “Luther?”   
  
Luther looked down at Vanya as she opened her eyes – they had lost their white hue and were back to the warm hazel that Luther had known as a child.   
  
She was slowly waking, but was still disoriented, her hazel eyes open but unfocussed. “Luther, where are we? What’s going on?”   
  
Luther looked up quickly at Eleanor. “You’re sure whatever that elevator leads to can contain her?”   
  
Eleanor’s smile faded slightly as she looked at Vanya. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”   
  
Luther hunched down to fit his frame into the elevator and looked impatiently at Five, Allison and Diego who remained. He raised his eyebrows at them, waiting.   
  
Allison looked at Vanya, moving slowly but still tucked in Luther’s arms. She moved into the elevator, followed by Diego and Five and took Vanya’s hand.  When she did, Vanya looked over at her and smiled lazily. “Hi Allison.” Allison smiled back.   
  
Eleanor entered the elevator and spoke loudly and clearly. “Initiative engage. Young, Eleanor. ID 2-5-0-0-3-9.”   
  
A computerized voice came from overhead as soft fluorescent lights flickered on and the door closed slowly. “Voice recognition successful. Welcome. Eleanor.”   
  
The elevator shuddered briefly as the group felt themselves moving downwards. They remained silent for the ride aside from the soft purr of the cat in Klaus’ arms.   
  
The computerized voice returned as the elevator came to a slow stop. “Initiative. Area one.”   
  
The doors opened, to what appeared to be an apartment. The room was rectangular with a long table running through the middle of it with mismatched kitchen chairs flanking it on all sides. To the right was a small kitchenette akin to what one might find in an office or dormitory. To the left was a small living area with a sectional couch and a couple mismatched armchairs – all of which appeared to have been second (or maybe even third) hand. There were outdated magazines strewn on a coffee table in the centre of the sectional and ratty paperbacks shoved haphazardly into bookshelves along the far wall.   
  
Around the room, the walls were adorned with one or two motivational posters as well as a print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night and other common and innocuous pieces of art that you might find in a doctor’s office. It was the kind of art that makes a room feel more comfortable, but just passably so. It was there to prevent the unease that comes in a room with empty walls - it was there to serve a purpose and was obviously not chosen with any care or attention beyond that.   
  
The cat in Klaus’ arms stirred and jumped away. Klaus pushed past the crowd in the elevator in pursuit.   
  
“Marty!”   
  
Klaus watched as the cat trotted over to the living area where a small cat bed was tucked under the coffee table.   
  
“Sorry Klaus. I’m afraid he already belongs to someone.” Eleanor said, moving out of the elevator, making room for the remaining Hargreeves siblings to step into the room.   
  
“Who?”   
  
“Me.” The voice came from the sectional sofa, which appeared to be empty. Until, in a blink, it wasn’t.   
  
A man appeared, laying on his back facing the group with arms crossed behind his head as if he had been lounging for quite some time. His fingers were playing with a strand of his messy dark brown hair. He smiled, his teeth straight and white peering out through brown lips and a neat black beard. He appeared casual, but well put together in a pair of dark wash jeans and a burgundy pullover crewneck sweater. The exception to his well kept appearance was the pair of bright pink bunny slippers that appeared as he swung his legs to the side and sat up with his feet on the floor.   
  
“And,” he said, raising his body from the couch, moving towards Klaus and the new arrivals, “His name is Ichabod. Not Marty.” His deep voice rang with a slight hint of an English accent.   
  
Eleanor held her arm towards the man in the bunny slippers as he shuffled towards the kitchenette and flicked on a kettle that was sitting on the counter.   
  
“This is Aarav. He works with The Initiative as well. He's our primary medical tech.”   
  
From the back of the crowd, Diego shook his head and stepped forward, pushing past Five. “And are you just going to blow past the fact that he appeared out of thin air?” He looked at Luther and Allison.   
“Come on. I can’t be the only one who saw him just appear out of nowhere.”   
  
Aarav shook his head and snorted from the kitchenette as he dug a tea bag out of a canister on the counter and dropped it in a brown coffee mug. Eleanor shot him a sideways glance and spoke through his snickering.   
  
“Aarav is.... like you.” She said.   
  
“Like us how?” Luther asked.   
  
Before Eleanor had a chance to formulate a response, Five's eyes grew wide with a realization he couldn’t contain. “He's one of the 43.”   
  
Klaus, who had ignored the continued goings on in favour of trying to coax Ichabod out from under the coffee table, finally became aware of the conversation. He gave up on his endeavour and sat on the coffee table, arms crossed in front of him. Ben observed from behind the back of one of the armchairs and spoke in unified confusion with Klaus. “What 43?”   
  
Five pulled out a chair from the long table in the middle of the room and put his head in his hands. “Jesus Christ. Your chemical diet has really done a number on your memory.” He looked up at Klaus and noticed that Diego, Allison and Luther had the same blank expression on their faces. “Christ you guys. He is one of the 43 kids born on October 1, ‘89. You know. Like we were?”   
  
“Holy shit.” Diego and Luther spoke in unison. Allison’s mouth hung open. Vanya had fallen back into sleep in Luther’s arms. They all joined Five around the table, Luther resting Vanya on his knees.   
  
The kettle squealed and Aarav topped off his mug with hot water. His eyes connected with Klaus from across the room as he shuffled his way back to the sectional. As he settled back in - pink bunny slippered feet crossed on the coffee table next to where Klaus was perched - he blew on his tea and spoke. “Your first time then? Meeting one of the others, I mean.” He smiled at Klaus, who was admiring the bunny faces looking up at him.   
  
Diego responded. “We’ve been a bit busy our entire lives. Not much time for socializing.”   
  
Aarav looked at Diego and smirked. “Right. Saving the world and all that.” He snickered again. “I really dodged a bullet, didn’t I?”   
  
Diego smirked back sarcastically. “What bullet?”   
  
“The Hargreeves bullet. When Reginald came sniffing around looking to adopt the next generation of self-important vigilantes. Shitty way to raise a bunch of kids if you ask me.” He sipped his tea and looked back towards Klaus. “Bullet dodged. That’s all I’m saying.”   
  
Diego glanced towards Vanya, cradled in Luther’s lap, and sighed, his head in his hands. “You’re not wrong.”   
  
Klaus weighed in, staring at Aarav with fascination. “Invisibility? I don’t even want to think of what kind of sick shit the old man could have pulled off with someone like you in the ranks. He would have loved you. Well, to the level that a cold blooded robot person is capable of at least.”   
  
Beside Diego, Allison was scrawling madly. She finished and shoved the pad of paper at Five and pointed to Eleanor who was still standing just outside the elevator doors looking increasingly uncomfortable with Aarav’s bluntness.   
  
Five read Allison’s message to Eleanor. “How many other of the 43 have you met?”   
  
Five glanced up at Eleanor who cleared her throat quietly, grateful for the slight change in subject. “I have met a few of the others. There was an attempt to recruit a few years ago as everyone was turning 25. But - quite happily, if you ask me - most of them are living quite happy, normal lives and didn’t have a lot of interest in the time space continuum.”   
  
Allison scrawled again, passing the note back to Five to read. “How many of the others work with The Initiative?”   
  
“Just Aarav and one other.” Eleanor said, averting her eyes towards the ceiling.   
  
Five stared ahead, knowing what Allison’s next question would be. “Who is the one other?”   
  
Eleanor’s eyes straightened and met with Five’s.   
  
“Me.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Umbrella Academy has just leapt through time and space in a desperate attempt to save themselves from the apocalypse in 2019 in the hopes that they may still be able to stop it from happening. They find themselves in the headquarters for The Initiative in 1987 and are familiarizing themselves with the organization and the... unique people employed there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long I am going between Chapters. Some days finding motivation is tough, but I also want to get through the story I have rolling around in my head before we learn too much about the second season they are working on!
> 
> Enjoy!

_**Time: 4:00am** _   
_**Location: The Initiative Underground Headquarters** _

****The experience of finding themselves in an underground headquarters of a secret time organization in the year 1987 and meeting other children of the 43 had different impacts on the each of the Hargreeves siblings.  
  
Diego needed a nap. He was given access to one of the many bunk rooms to have one.  
  
Allison, concerned less with the date or other powers in their midst and more with Vanya, was keen to follow Aarav to the medical wing of the Initiative Headquarters. Luther moved to carry Vanya, but Allison forcefully put her hand on his arm and, looking him pointedly in the eye, shook her head. After a moment’s pause, Aarav stepped in and took Vanya’s limp frame from Luther’s arms.  
  
Five had questions. He wanted to see more of the headquarters and how it operated. He followed Aarav along with Allison and Vanya to the medical wing in the hopes that there were undertakings happening in the headquarters more interesting than the ratty common room.  
  
Klaus had watched with a smile as Aarav shuffled in his bunny slippers down a corridor off the kitchenette with his sisters. Having finally coaxed Ichabod out from under the coffee table and onto his lap, he now was sat next to Eleanor on the couch with Ben perched on a chair across from him.  
  
Luther, turned away from following Allison as she was lead away by Aarav, just…pouted. And observed.  
  
Klaus had been working on prodding Eleanor into telling him more about herself and as a result of his persistence had finally managed to learn what made Eleanor unique.  
  
“So, you can change into any form?” he questioned.  
  
“Any living form.” Eleanor corrected.  
  
“Dog?”  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“Mouse?”  
  
“Hm hmm.”  
  
“Elephant seal?”  
  
 Eleanor’s brow furrowed and her lips smiled. “I’m not sure in what specific situation that would be helpful, but yes.”  
  
“And you can turn yourself into any human as well?”  
  
Klaus had barely finished his sentence and within a blink he was sat next to a perfect, smiling facsimile of himself.  
  
“What do you think?” Eleanor-Klaus said, in Klaus’ voice, with Klaus’ lips and smiled Klaus’ smile with a wink.  
  
Klaus’ eyes widened. He reached out and brushed one of his curls off Eleanor-Klaus’ forehead. “I think I’ve had exciting dreams that started very much like this.”  
  
Eleanor-Klaus leaned over and gently whispered in Klaus’ ear “It’s not the first time I’ve heard that.”  
  
Luther, who had been listening from across the room from one of the kitchen chairs watched as, within another blink, the second Klaus turned back into Eleanor. She adjusted the hem of her dress and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes as Klaus laughed and clapped enthusiastically. Eleanor laughed.  
  
“So how do we know which version of you is real?” Luther questioned.  
  
Eleanor pushed her glasses back up her nose and turned her head in Luther’s direction. “What do you mean?”  
  
Luther rose and approached, looming over the pair on the couch. “I mean, how do we know who you actually are? If you can be literally anybody, how do we know who you actually are? How do we know we can trust you?”  
  
“I suppose you don’t.” Eleanor said calmly. “But how do you ever know?”  
  
Luther scoffed dismissively, but Eleanor continued.  
  
Eleanor shifted her weight on the couch to face Luther more directly.  
  
“I’m serious. How do you ever know who someone really is or whether you can trust them? Harold Jenkins wasn’t a shape shifter. That didn’t make him any more trustworthy. And Vanya. She was your sister. You KNEW her. But when push came to shove, you couldn’t trust her.” Eleanor paused and peered over the top of her glasses at Luther. “Or at least you felt like you couldn’t.”  
  
Luther’s eyes dropped as Eleanor raised herself from her place on the couch, approached him and took his hand.  
  
“I’m not going to try and convince you, Luther. You CAN trust me, but you’ll have to make the decision to do so.”  
  
Eleanor dropped Luther’s hand gently. “I think I might go check on Aarav and the rest. Make sure Vanya is getting settled. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”  
  
Klaus kept his eyes trained on the purring cat on his lap as he and Luther sat in silence a moment. Finally, as if noticing the tension, Ichabod stretched his way off of Klaus’ lap and onto the floor, where he plodded over to the food and water dish in the kitchenette.  
  
Klaus’ lips twitched as he made eye contact with Ben who shook his head knowingly.  
  
“Don’t do it Klaus. It’s not going to make anything better.”  
  
Klaus rolled his eyes. “Right. Well it’s not likely to make things much worse.”  
  
“Is that Ben?” Luther’s voice cut across the room. “Are you talking to Ben?”  
  
Ben and Klaus both looked up at Luther, who was still standing near the table, facing the corridor Eleanor had just disappeared down.   
  
Klaus exchanged a glance with Ben and looked over at Luther. “Yeah. He says hi.”  
  
Ben scoffed. “Did I say that? I don’t remember saying that”  
  
Almost in unison with Ben, Luther scoffed. “That doesn’t sound like Ben.”  
  
Klaus smiled sadly. “Yeah. You’re right.” Klaus bit his bottom lip. “And so is she.”  
  
“What? Who’s right?” Luther turned his head slightly to face Klaus, body still squared with the entrance of the corridor, as if he was daring himself to enter it.  
  
“Eleanor. She’s right.”  
  
“Don’t start with me Klaus. It’s been a really long day and I’m not in the mood for your nonsense.”  
  
“Look.” Klaus clenched his jaw and breathed in sharply, raising himself from the couch to move towards Luther. “You have been the defacto leader of this family since day one because you were stronger and bigger and were given the label of ‘Number One.’ But we are ALL here because we are ALL freaks in equal measure. We are ALL here because we were all PURCHASED by a man with ZERO empathy or interest in actually raising human beings. And when push came to shove and the rest of us found our way out, you stayed. You trusted that sociopathic blow-hard to the point that he was able to literally send you to the MOON and not have you ask any questions.”  
  
Luther’s eyes narrowed as he turned his hulking frame towards Klaus as he approached. “Yes Klaus. Believe it or not, I haven’t managed to forget that.”  
  
Klaus’ inhaled and allowed his jaw to soften as his voice became gentle. “You were able to put so much trust in dad, but when we were growing up, WE were all we had. I know I haven’t given any of you many reasons to trust me recently, but Vanya? Allison? You KNOW them Luther. You KNOW where they have been and what they have been through because you have been through it too. But when Vanya was begging not to be locked away? When we were begging you to release her? When Allison said she knew she could stop Vanya if she could get close enough to talk to her? You couldn’t trust us.” He paused, considering the words he was about to say before he said them. “You didn’t trust Ben in Paris.” Klaus heard Ben inhale sharply from the sitting area behind him. “And now we’re here.”  
  
Luther looked towards the floor as Klaus touched his arm and continued.  
  
“You can’t call yourself a leader if you can’t find it in yourself to trust the people you are leading.”   
  
There was a moment of silence between Luther and Klaus before Ben spoke. “Wait a second. Did you just say something insightful?”  
  
Klaus turned to Ben, looking puzzled. “You know what. I think I may have.”  
  
“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”  
  
Klaus smiled sarcastically as Luther looked towards the seating area. “Is that him again? Or, still?”    
  
Klaus nodded. “Yeah. Can’t seem to get rid of him.”  
  
Luther stared at the empty space where he assumed Ben was standing and, before he could formulate a thought around what he might want to say, Aarav appeared in the opening of the corridor.  
  
“Sorry to interrupt a brotherly moment.” He said, running his hands through his dark hair, speaking to both of them, but with his eyes shifting slyly towards Klaus. “But Vanya is awake.”  
  
They both turned towards Aarav as Luther shuffled nervously forward. “How is she?” He asked.  
  
Aarav sighed. “From what I can tell, she’s good. She’s stable, awake, talking. She seems to be having a hard time with her hearing in one ear, but I don’t think it’s anything that won’t heal itself.”  
  
Klaus furrowed his brow and looked skeptically down his nose at Aarav. “Is there a ‘but’ coming? It sounds like there is a ‘but’ coming.”  
  
Luther looked worried. “But? But what?” He looked at Aarav. “Is there a but?  
  
Aarav’s lips pursed and he nodded slightly. “There is a but. It would appear that she has… lost some of her memory.”  
  
“How much of her memory?” Luther asked, feeling like maybe he didn’t entirely want to know the answer.  
  
“We are still fully determining how far back her memory goes, but as of right now, I can definitively say that she doesn’t know where she is or why she is here and she doesn’t remember going to the concert that brought you all here.”  
  
Klaus stepped forwards towards Aarav. “She remembers us, though, right? She hasn’t forgotten us?”  
  
“No, she hasn’t forgotten you. And she hasn’t forgotten Leonard Peabody.”  
  
Klaus rolled his eyes knowingly. “There’s another ‘but’ there.”  
  
Aarav smiled sadly at him. “She hasn’t forgotten Leonard Peabody. BUT… she does appear to have forgotten Harold Jenkins. And she appears to have forgotten… that she has abilities.”  
  
Luther exhaled as though he had been holding his breath since Aarav entered the room. “So she doesn’t remember she’s special? She doesn’t remember starting the apocalypse?”  
  
Aarav shook his head. “From what we can tell right now, no.”  
  
Luther’s eyebrows furrowed as he considered the potential blessing or curse Vanya’s memory loss could present to the group. “Can we see her?”  
  
Aarav looked up at Luther before his eyes darted towards Klaus. “Well. Eleanor has gone to find Diego and I was sent down here to get Klaus. But…” Aarav paused as he put a hand in the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He carefully unfolded it and turned the message, scrawled in Allison’s handwriting, towards the brothers. It read “NO LUTHER.”  
  
Klaus winced as Luther took the paper and held it in both hands, head hanging. Klaus made eye contact with Aarav. “Is there a waiting room or something in that medical wing of yours? I can’t stomach leaving this big guy here by himself.”  
  
Aarav nodded. “Yeah. There’s a small waiting room just outside the unit. You’re welcome to it.”  
  
Klaus slapped Luther on the back. “Come on then, Big Man. Let’s go see how lucky Number Seven is doing.” Luther nodded slightly and started down the corridor.  
  
Klaus met Aarav shoulder to shoulder as they watched Luther lumber down the hallway.   
  
“So…” Aarav said, glancing sideways at Klaus. “Family, hey?”  
  
“Darling, you have no idea.” Klaus smiled flirtatiously as Ben coughed from behind him, reminding him he was not alone. “By the way,” Klaus continued, motioning vaguely backwards at Ben as they all continued behind Luther down the corridor. “Have you met my dead brother yet?”

 


End file.
